XPost: rec.radio.amateur.moderated

Amateur/Ham Radio

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Satellite base station antenna?

Posted: 10 Jul 2022 07:04 AM PDT https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/comments/vvs663/satellite_base_station_antenna/

submitted by /u/Big-Bit-5593
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Is Ham Radio Good for Someone Who Doesn't Want to Talk to People (at least
very often?)

Posted: 10 Jul 2022 11:03 AM PDT https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/comments/vvx79g/is_ham_radio_good_for_someone_who_doesnt_want_to/


Im an electronics engineer interested in RF and vintage electronics and
stuff like that. I have thought about getting into AR as an excuse to mess around with RF stuff, but to be completely honest Im not really interested
in talking on the ham channels except occasionally. Is there much to do
besides that? I would just try building RF stuff but it can be hard to keep motivation if I dont have some sort of goal or reason.
Sorry for the complete noob question lol, any advice would be greatly appreciated! submitted by /u/Tower11Archer
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club chaplain?

Posted: 10 Jul 2022 07:17 AM PDT https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/comments/vvsf9x/club_chaplain/


Hello, newbie here. I am studying for my test, and just connected with my
local group. Everyone was really nice and helpful.
But. They have a "club chaplain " who began the meeting with a convocation.
It was short and mumbled. And I cant be sure what he prayed for, buy as a non-Christian this made me uncomfortable. I said nothing, as a guest there,
but I wanted to know if this is a common thing. submitted by
/u/seriousname65
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10m band absolutely rocking. Come on techs, get using your 10m HF
privileges.

Posted: 10 Jul 2022 04:39 AM PDT https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/comments/vvpnom/10m_band_absolutely_rocking_come_on_techs_get/


Just doing IARU HF contest using a President McKinley on 10m and an Imax
2000 CB antenna 25ft off the floor. Got quite a few 900-1200 mile contacts
so far. Best today at the moment D4K in Cape Verde from Northern England,
2890 miles, got through second call with 20W. submitted by /u/aintbroke_dontfixit
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Acquired a full lab through Estate clean-up

Posted: 10 Jul 2022 10:35 AM PDT https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/comments/vvwlhe/acquired_a_full_lab_through_estate_cleanup/


Ive been in the embedded electronics industry since 2002. Built-up my experience and my own lab slowly over time, most in the past 5 years when disposable income got better. I post my ongoing and small updates on
Reddit, Instagram and so on. So my neighbours who know my social media
accounts know enough of what Im up to.
So I got a text from a neighbour about whether Id be interested in some electronics components from an estate that theyre cleaning up. He sent a
pic of a few resistors and some copper-clad board. I said no initially, but
he mentioned that there would be some equipment as well, which kinda piqued
my interest. So I asked if I could go look at the stuff.
A week later I get a call from the person cleaning up the estate. This guy wasnt just a tinkerer, it was his career. From the sounds of it, he had his
own business, but he also did work or worked at the big aerospace defence contractor in town at the time Bristol Aerospace (now Magellan).
So I drove over to check it out and proceeded to fill my FJ Cruiser from
top to bottom with equipment, boxes of components and old projects. There
was a Tektronics 549 Storage Oscilloscope, various swing arm meters,
Heathkit IO-4510 two-channel scope with IG-4505 external calibrator,
Precision RC Oscillator (Tube-based), Impedance Bridge, Wave Analyzer and
so on. Tons of components for anyone looking to restore older tube and early-based semiconductor circuits. As well as old radios in various states
of repair that he never got to.
Im now sorting this stuff out and having trouble with it. Boxes of
components that were obviously put together as a kit for a particular
project. Incomplete projects that he never got to. His test equipment has
notes taped on it of the various calibrations and repairs that he did to
it, including a log of all the batteries that he had in his meters for the biasing circuits. So much history and all of it is lost to time.
This gentleman was born in 1945 and emigrated to Canada from Germany in
1955. From the notes that I can see, he stopped tinkering with this stuff
in about 2015. He passed away a little over a year ago.
I look at my lab and I see the same thing, albeit with newer equipment and newer components. Some day someone will clean up my lab, or maybe I will.
All that time and effort, the half-finished projects, the intentions, the
goals and plans will all be lost to time as well.
Who knew getting a call like that would lead to a minor existential crisis!
So the next few months will be spent slowly sorting and cleaning this stuff
up. Keeping some for myself, finding new homes for it with others. I
couldnt bear to see this all hit the garbage dump where it was heading. submitted by /u/aacmckay
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Dipole diagnostic help

Posted: 10 Jul 2022 09:49 AM PDT https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/comments/vvvl59/dipole_diagnostic_help/


I have been building antennas now for a few months, and have a very
successful 70cm super J pole, 2m J pole, and 2m dipole, and an off-center dipole for 40m & 20m. the J poles and 2m dipole where all made from half
inch copper plumbing that I had laying around, OCDP is 16ga wire. I am currently attempting to build and tune in a 6m dipole using aluminum, first time using that metal in an antenna and boy howdy am I have issues.

Pics of the construction below, but basically, I have half inch c-channel mounted to some Lexan, with copper pressure contacts held to the aluminum
with clamping pressure. I also have half inch aluminum bar stock that is attached to the interior of the channel at the ends to adjust the length
for tuning. SWR is sitting just above 3 at the lowest point shown on my SWR graph via my VNA, and that was with a fresh calibration. If I put my hand
near one of the antenna elements, the SWR drops right where I would expect
it to be around 1.2 - 1.3.

It is resonating at the correct frequency, as the SWR graph show correct
shape of plot over frequency range, it just seems like the antenna system
is not presenting 50Ohm to the analyzer/radio. Assistance/thoughts on where
to go from here would be appreciated. My current thinking was to remove the SO239 and attach the coax direct to the antenna elements, but could the
SO239 cause what I am experiencing?
Distance from objects seen in pic:
Ceiling: 30in, Floor: 66in, Wall: 30in

Thank you in advance for your time and thoughts!!
73
Edit: grammar.... mental note coffee before reddit, lol! https://preview.redd.it/jwabi7u6tra91.jpg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1548ec69ba17b8091a746ff5c1723c42ca0a2708

https://preview.redd.it/o5m0e80etra91.jpg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=02622cafd37f3b77dd09ebe48a69a5df643a9ac1

https://preview.redd.it/refso5kjtra91.jpg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=bb400ec2817cdb0dfceff3634220323f19363fc7
submitted
by /u/LongRow2Hoe
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Found a Bug in (on) the MD-380

Posted: 10 Jul 2022 08:33 AM PDT https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/comments/vvtz7c/found_a_bug_in_on_the_md380/

submitted by /u/Shirkaday
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Is it typical to select a new call sign once you upgrade to General or
Extra?

Posted: 10 Jul 2022 12:31 PM PDT https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/comments/vvz2xn/is_it_typical_to_select_a_new_call_sign_once_you/


Just got my technicians license. I know you have more call signs available
to you with higher license classes but, Im curious, is it typical that
people select a new call sign or do most folks just keep their original
call sign for convinience? submitted by /u/jowanga
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[Central Europe] (Question by regular person, i.e.: I know nothing) Ininteligible speech at around 6.9MHz, at least 1 sentence being repeated
over for hours.

Posted: 10 Jul 2022 09:24 AM PDT https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/comments/vvv238/central_europe_question_by_regular_person_ie_i/


I was just scrolling around SW band on a regular radio/cassette player as I often do. It has just regular frequency slider with 1MHz points, so I cant
tell exact frequency.
There appear to have been 2 different channels. For both I had too bad
signal. On 1 of them there was a voice repeating 1 sentence over and over
with short pauses. He occasionally said something else and then continued.
I couldnt properly tune it as this has no fine tuning, even just lifting
finger would be too much.
I heard it from 14:04 (9. July 22) to 0:20 (10. July 22).
I gathered what sounded most interesting from recording and put it
together: https://d.kuku.lu/106c5e7f6 (Can be played online)
What could that be? Also, whats the beeping that can also be found on end
of the file?
Probably... No. Most likely a stupid question, but I am curious if it could
be anything special. Thanks and sorry.
Edit: This is the repeating part from the other station alone: https://d.kuku.lu/d4c927f48 submitted by /u/lukmly013
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CW Inside Knowledge

Posted: 10 Jul 2022 06:34 AM PDT https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/comments/vvrmit/cw_inside_knowledge/


Im just starting out in CW since getting to a comfortable 18 WPM via LCWO.
Ive learned via youtube videos that if you have an error, just send "e" a
few times and then repeat what you meant to send. Im wondering if theres a
book or website on CW that would cover little things like that that you
seem to only learn over time?
Also, when youre finished with a TX, do you just send "BK" or is it
customary to send "BTU URCALL de MYCALL"?
Any other CW tips would be appreciated! submitted by /u/minorsecond
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New operator straggling to make a contact

Posted: 10 Jul 2022 08:53 AM PDT https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/comments/vvuekk/new_operator_straggling_to_make_a_contact/


I got licensed a couple of weeks ago and after making 4 attempts on
different days, I have made no contacts on SSB, only FT8.
What I have (done): Xiegu x6100; tried 5W and 10W Par EndFedz®
EFT-10/20/40 Trail Friendly antenna Antenna deployed as a sloper (about 6m above the ground), inverted V and L SWR below 1.5:1 Located in a park far
away from any QRM Good conditions for the band
Receiving works very well - I hear dozens of stations from all over Europe.
No matter how much I call CQ, nobody responds. No matter whom I answer,
they do not hear me.
I checked web-sdr located ~50km away while operating on 20m and my signal
was so weak, waterfall barely showed it.
How do I even approach this problem? Thank you. submitted by /u/backpack_the_world
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Condo Antenna Help

Posted: 10 Jul 2022 12:28 PM PDT https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/comments/vvz0ld/condo_antenna_help/


Ground level Condo dweller here looking for antenna designs that I could
build that would work well indoors in a garage for HF + 6M. I know there
will not be one antenna that will cover all that range, I am just looking
for a style of antenna that will work well in my challenging setting. Oh
and I do not have access to the roof, and external wall/ground antenna installation is forbidden by HOA :(
Moving when available is in the plans thats just a few years out currently
and it would be nice to not wait till then to get on HF. submitted by /u/LongRow2Hoe
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Xiegu X6100, wsjtx and macbook - audio errors/no transmit help?

Posted: 10 Jul 2022 12:20 PM PDT https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/comments/vvyuqn/xiegu_x6100_wsjtx_and_macbook_audio_errorsno/


Ive connected my X6100 to a Macbook Pro (M1) with the usb cable that came
with it and an adapter (A to C) - it works fine set up as an X6100
(firmware 1.1.5) in "radio", test cat goes green and wsjtx (2.5.4 -
additional file installed as per instructions) can change the band fine.
First it didnt work at all, then I changed the "audio" settings to find
the "USB audio Codec" that appeared after connecting the radio for both
input and output, and also the sound settings on the mac to match for input
and output. Now I could receive fine, lots of activity.
Transmit - nope. Radio PTT engages, red light, but no power, no signal on
the waterfall. I played with the settings, nothing worked, then after
quitting wsjtx and coming back in it started working again. Tx could see
signal on the waterfall fine, and I managed to call QC, got a response,
could answer a couple.
Came back again the next night to do the same, Tx ine for about 5 seconds
of the 7.5 in FT4, then the mac beeped and it stopped working. Now Im
getting the red Tx light staying on, no signal/power indicating no audio getting to the radio from the mac, and after a couple of seconds an
error "failed to connect to audio device...", Tx stays red, and I had to
unplug the radio. Pressing "tune" does the same - hamlib error, and mac
audio error pop up.
Ive the audio settings exactly the same as the previous day, nothing
changed. I tried reinstalling wsjtx, nope, installing the Rc1 latest
version, nope - same errors.
Anyone have any insight? submitted by /u/Daeve42
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HF Antenna for a duplex

Posted: 10 Jul 2022 11:30 AM PDT https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/comments/vvxrg0/hf_antenna_for_a_duplex/


Hey everybody!
I have a landlord who (luckily) isn’t too picky about what we do on the property. I’m looking for some kind of antenna for VHF and/or UHF. I don’t mind setting up a mast or mounting on top of the house. I’ve thought about building a J pole, but is there an antenna out there which will get me more range? I’m mainly planning on using this antenna for the 2 meter band.
I’m also looking at buying the BTECH Mobile UV-50X2 for our base station. Most of the repeaters I want to hit for the time being are within 15 miles
of our house. We also want to use it in case of emergencies. I’m out on the lake quite a bit (ten miles) and I work about 15 miles from home.
Any suggestions on equipment? submitted by /u/x0jazzgoblin0x
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Anytone 578 Comments

Posted: 10 Jul 2022 10:53 AM PDT https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/comments/vvwysw/anytone_578_comments/


I have had a 578 plus for about two months now. It’s compact and easy to program. The performance is great on both DMR and analog. But my one
complaint is the teeny little screen. I have mine installed in the console cubby of a Jeep Compass. It’s very difficult to read and the text size can’t be altered. I’m thinking about buying an analog rig with a detachable face and just using my 878 handheld for DMR. Before I get drastic is there
a better solution?? submitted by /u/smouldering_ruins
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Flagpole Antenna Question

Posted: 10 Jul 2022 10:48 AM PDT https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/comments/vvwuyy/flagpole_antenna_question/


New to radio stuff….I have a two part question.
I have a 30 foot metal flagpole on our lake property that’s been there for 60+ years I’m told. I was wanting to put an x50 antenna at the top as we don’t use it as a flag pole. If I permanently mount an antenna up there, do
I have to ground it as well? If so, how is the easiest way? Do I just put a rebar rod in the ground and run some cooper wire from the bar to the pole?
I also have a telescoping aluminum flagpole that I was thinking about
turning into an extendable mast for my x30 antenna when in the field. Do I
have to ground it as well or is it really only an issue in bad weather?
Thanks! submitted by /u/YYCGrizz
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Folkscanomy: Ham and Amateur Radio : Internet Archive

Posted: 09 Jul 2022 05:56 PM PDT https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/comments/vvfpuo/folkscanomy_ham_and_amateur_radio_internet_archive/

submitted by /u/cbl5257
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